Fortune shines on Montreal
MONTREAL - The deciding overtime sequence - an Alex Kovalev screamer that skimmed off Zdeno Chara's stick and over Tim Thomas's shoulder at 2:30 - was an unfortunate end to the Bruins, not just because they ended up on the wrong side of a 3-2 decision.
It was a shame because the event leading up to Kovalev's power-play goal (a questionable tripping call on Jeremy Reich at 1:31 of overtime) laid a blemish on an otherwise riveting match that showcased clutch saves, a superhuman offensive effort by Kovalev, a two-goal third-period outburst by a misfiring Boston offense, a one-time blast by Montreal defenseman Patrice Brisebois that hit squarely on the right post at the end of regulation, and the always-captivating Bell Centre crowd, which nearly brought the house tumbling down when the Canadiens netted the winner and took a 2-0 series lead.
"It's unfortunate," said Glen Metropolit. "Kind of a delayed reaction by the ref. But what a great bunch of guys we have in that room. We battled back."
Whining about missed calls is for losers, and to the Bruins' credit, they didn't harp on referee Mike Leggo's slow-to-blow whistle when Reich tripped defenseman Andrei Markov in the Montreal zone.
Instead, they looked at the positives, which were many. Before Kovalev's goal, the Bruins killed seven Montreal power plays - including Shawn Thornton's double minor at 17:43 of the third. They outshot the Canadiens, 39-31, getting some traffic in front of goalie Carey Price, who stopped all 12 first-period shots when the Bruins were at their sharpest.
The Bruins now find themselves having to win four of the next five games, starting tonight at TD Banknorth Garden.
"I agree with him 100 percent," said coach Claude Julien when informed that Montreal counterpart Guy Carbonneau said the Bruins played their best game of the 10-showdown set. "There's no doubt we had a great effort tonight."
On the winning goal, forward Tomas Plekanec beat Metropolit on the draw in the Bruins' zone, using a move the Boston center had warned linesman Derek Amell about before he dropped the puck.
"I told [Amell] that he cheats all the time with his foot. Before [the linesman] drops the puck, he gets his foot in there," said Metropolit, demonstrating how Plekanec often plants his left skate in the circle to block the opposing center's stick. "So my stick gets caught in his skate. He got away with it, so oh, well."
Plekanec pulled the puck back along the boards to Markov, who then slid a pass back down the wall to Kovalev. As the No. 1 right wing loaded his stick, Thomas squared himself to the shot, thinking he had positioned himself to close the hole where he thought Kovalev was targeting: under his right arm. But Kovalev's shot deflected off Chara's stick and hopped over Thomas's left shoulder.
"One bad bounce there," said Thomas. "I wish I could have had a quicker shoulder to help him out there."
The Bruins came out with their best effort, but found themselves down, 2-0, after two periods. In the first period, after grinder Steve Begin got rid of the puck in center ice while standing up to an Amtrak-like charge from Andrew Alberts, ex-Bruin Bryan Smolinski dished the puck to Roman Hamrlik. The rugged Montreal defenseman wound up and smoked a slapper that whizzed past Thomas's glove at 18:30.
In the second period, Kovalev set up forward Sergei Kostitsyn for Montreal's second goal after circling in the Boston zone while handling the puck, looking like a racecar turning a lap around Daytona. Kovalev's shot deflected off Mark Stuart and caromed to the stick of Markov, who put a shot on goal that Thomas stopped. But Kostitsyn was there to pop the rebound home at 1:50.
But the Bruins kicked off an unlikely third-period rally when Peter Schaefer ignited a two-on-one rush with Petteri Nokelainen. Price stopped Nokelainen's shot, but Schaefer, driving to the net, popped a backhander over the goalie at 3:58 of the third.
Then with two Canadiens in the box (Maxim Lapierre for hooking, Kovalev for slashing), the Bruins netted a five-on-three equalizer. Marc Savard, manning the point as he usually does during a two-man advantage, slid a diagonal pass to Marco Sturm at the goal line. As Price slid over to cover Sturm, the Bruins wing flipped a cross-crease pass to David Krejci, who slammed the tying shot into the open net at 9:34.
But after they tied the game, the Bruins started taking penalties. There was a holding call on Reich in the offensive zone at 12:50 of the third. There was a trip on Metropolit, giving the Canadiens a 33-second five-on-three power play. Then Thornton, who got his stick caught up with the lumber of Tom Kostopoulos, clipped the forward in the face and drew blood, earning a four-minute penalty.
The Bruins' penalty kill worked wonders by stepping in front of shots and poking sticks in passing lanes. Kovalev hummed a slapper off Chara's right leg. P.J. Axelsson got a stick in a lane and cleared the zone. Brisebois's regulation-ending shot rattled off the post, and in overtime, the Bruins killed off all but 12 seconds of Thornton's penalty before Reich was sent off.
"They work so hard for us," said Metropolit of his fourth-line mates. "We feed off their determination and efforts. Us penalty-killers who are out there, we know what they do for the team. We go the extra mile to block shots and make sure they don't get that skate of shame."
The Bruins couldn't, however, get that final bounce. 